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Mitchell Johnson's hopes of leading the Australian attack in the
third Test took another hit in the tour game at Norhampton, but
Phillip Hughes put some of his troubles behind him with his highest
first-class score of the Ashes tour.

Johnson was overlooked for the new ball following his wasteful
opening spells in the second Test and he did little to restore his
own fragile confidence or that of the Australian selectors with
figures of 0-42 from seven overs.

Though his left arm looked a little higher and he did not spray
the ball around as he did at Lord's Johnson also did not threaten
for a wicket and showed little sign of snapping out of his malaise
as the inexperienced Northamptonshire batting line-up took him for
a run a ball. He was upstaged by Stuart Clark, who along with Shane
Watson made a strong case to be selected in a reconfigured
Australian attack at Edgbaston.

Clark claimed two top-order wickets for 45 runs from 14 overs.
Most importantly, though, the experienced seamer exhibited the
control that Australia is craving with Johnson misfiring and Peter
Siddle also leaking more than five an over although he picked up a
couple of late wickets to finish with a workmanlike 3-53.

If the Australians persist with Johnson at Edgbaston, as the
captain and coach have hinted, Clark and Siddle could be competing
for one spot in the attack. It would be difficult to drop spinner
Nathan Hauritz, who has performed above expectations and is tied
with Ben Hilfenhaus as the leading wickettaker for the series.

Clark has not played a Test since having elbow surgery in
December but he has a superb record against England, with 26
wickets at 17 in the previous Ashes. He bowled a zippy opening
spell to have Northants opener Ben Howgego caught behind in his
first over and first drop Rob Smith bowled for five.

Watson continued his impressive all-round effort by adding the
wickets of the county's two top-scorers - former England under-19
captain Alex Wakely and Riki Wessels, the son of Kepler - to his
commanding 84 in the first innings.

Watson's best hope of breaking into the XI is the No.6 position
occupied by Marcus North. The Western Australia struck an
impressive century in Cardiff but failed twice at Lord's and played
a horrible scoop to cover-point to get out for 39 before the
touring team declared its first innings at 3-308 on the second
morning at Northampton.

Northampton, in turn, declared at 7-226, allowing Hughes to gain
some valuable time in the middle with an unbeaten 65 from 81
balls.

He struck an unbroken opening stand of 139 with Andrew McDonald
(69 not out). McDonald was by far the more composed of the two,
pushed up the order for an extended hit, but it was Hughes' innings
that was of the most significance.

He had previously passed 50 only once on the tour, and his 78
against Sussex was not in a first-class game. Since then the
20-year-old has been subjected to a withering examination by
English quicks keen to exploit a flaw against short-pitched
bowling. He survived a confident leg side caught behind appeal, an
eerily similar moment to his dismissal in the first innings at
Lord's, and later a defensive edge flew between the wicketkeeper
and first slip.

However, his anxious moments were less frequent than his
emphatic strokes and he reached 50 with a six over long on.

The Australians suffered a dramatic batting collapse after
Hussey retired on his overnight score of 75 to give the lower order
a hit. The plan backfired when Marcus North, still attempting to
shore up his place at No.6, played a horrible scoop to cover point
on 39, and reserve wicketkeeper Graham Manou, filling in for Brad
Haddin, made a golden duck in his first innings with an Australian
team.

Andrew McDonald was clean-bowled by the seamer Jack Brooks for
32, while Johnson was caught in the slips off the same bowler
before commencing his bowling effort.

Meanwhile, England are expected to draft in Ian Bell as a
replacement for the injured Kevin Pietersen, while Australian
captain Ricky Ponting signalled in a newspaper column that there
would be little change to the Australian XI that went 1-0 down at
Lord's.

Ponting is still coming to terms with his "bad guy" status with
the English crowds. "I guess any Australian captain is going to cop
it over here," he said. "Some people have said it's because I'm the
last one of that group of Australian players who had a lot of Ashes
success in the late 1990s and early 2000s. So perhaps it's just
payback time."

AFP reports that the England and Wales Cricket Board has
dismissed claims star batsman Kevin Pietersen aggravated his
Achilles injury by going against medical advice playing in the
Indian Premier League in April.

He has been ruled out of the final three Ashes Tests due to the
injury suffered while with Bangalore, which, it had been claimed,
the batsman made worse during a jog on the beach while on duty with
Bangalore Royal Challengers.

But the ECB denied that Pietersen's actions constituted a break
with his prescribed training plan.

A spokesman said: "Pietersen reported to Loughborough before he
flew to South Africa and was passed fit to join up with
Bangalore.

"ECB medical staff sent Bangalore a fitness program and at no
stage did Pietersen do anything to contradict that and at no stage
was he told not to go running. Pietersen is the most diligent and
responsible of trainers."